Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to release in theaters on December 21st, 2022, bringing us a sequel to one of DC’s more heartfelt stories. Shazam! premiered on April 5th, 2019, and received a largely positive reception. The film follows a foster child, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who is chosen by the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to be his champion. This allows Batson to transform into an adult superhero, Shazam (Zachary Levi), every time he says the word, “Shazam.” Billy’s powers are put to the test against Dr. Thaddeus Sivana ( Mark Strong) and the Seven Deadly Sins. However, despite his heroism and world-saving antics, Batson is still just a child struggling to find his family.
Shazam! received high praise for boasting a very light-hearted and comedic tone. At the same time, it still managed to entwine deeper themes about what constitutes family, and gave a poignant depiction of growing up in foster care. Levi, Angel, and Jack Dylan Grazer also boasted stellar performances. After such high praise, Shazam! 2 was quickly greenlighted. Shazam! also sparked a spin-off film, Black Adam, which will premiere in October of 2022 and stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Levi, Angel, Grazer, and Hounsou have all been confirmed to be returning for Shazam! 2. Meanwhile, newcomers Rachel Zegler, Helen Mirren, and Lucy Liu have signed on to portray Atlas’ daughters. Of course, we also might see some other heroes. Batson has yet to be introduced to his fellow superheroes in the DC Universe, and Shazam! 2 might be a good place to get some introductions flowing. One hero who has been particularly rumored to appear in Shazam! 2 is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
Will Wonder Woman be in Shazam! 2?
Officially, Gadot has not been tied to Shazam! 2. However, many began to suspect she was when it was revealed that Atlas’ daughters are in the film. Mirren and Liu will be portraying the goddesses Hespera and Kalypso, respectively. These wayward goddesses are set to be the villains of Shazam! 2. This reminds us quite heavily of Wonder Woman, where Diane Price (Gadot) is tasked with taking down the God of War, Ares. Since she has fought gods before, she’d make a great ally to Shazam.
Also, leaked footage of Shazam! 2 does feature Wonder Woman…it just wasn’t Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Comicbook.com saw the exclusive footage at CinemaCon and reported on it. The footage featured Shazam on a date with Wonder Woman, whose face is not in the shot. Shazam leans in for a kiss (which Wonder Woman doesn’t appreciate), and she attempts to leave. When Shazam attempts to stop her, she turns around and her face isn’t Wonder Woman’s face, but that of the Wizard (Housmou). Afterward, we see Batson waking up in his bed, thus, revealing it was all just a weird dream.
So, Shazam! 2 basically got our hopes up and then dashed them within a few seconds. However, we are definitely hoping this little prank is their way of teasing that the real Wonder Woman is going to make an appearance, too. After all, who wouldn’t want to see what goes down when the fierce, immortal warrior, Wonder Woman, who has battled gods, suddenly has to work with two teenage boys who are crushing on her? A fake Wonder Woman will definitely be in Shazam! 2, but we’ll have to wait and see if our Wonder Woman is in it, too.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
